The Cavaliers are no strangers to trade deadline deals. With the NBA’s trade deadline looming this Thursday, the Cavs are one team with the cap room to absorb a contract, and have a couple players that teams may be interested in.

Marreese Speights is one of those players. Since becoming a Cavalier in the deal with Memphis, Speights has averaged 13 points and 6.5 rebounds a game off the bench. He is proving to be a hot commodity off the bench, and several contending teams would love to have him.

“Several teams willing to part with first-round picks for Cavs PF Marreese Speights, but most in 20-30 range. Nothing enticing Cavs at moment.”

Speights has a player option for next season at $4.5 million dollars. The prevailing opinion is that Speights would decline that option and seek a better deal in free agency. The Cavaliers have to decide between keeping Speights and trying to re-sign him this summer or trading him now and getting something of value for him.

A draft pick in the 20-30 range isn’t a great pick, but it could be part of a package of picks that the Cavaliers put together in order to move up to get a player they want. This is how they ended up with Tyler Zeller in last year’s draft.

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Still rooting for the Lakers!! I think they could sneak into playoffs.

Tim K.

Speights seems to like Cleveland and the Cavs seem to like having him. However, what I would like to see is them trading him for a future unprotected first round pick (or nearly unprotected, such as the pick received from Memphis) from an aging team such as the Celtics. That pick will be more valuable in say 2015 or 2016 than it would be now.

Then, I’d like to see them re-acquire Speights as a free agent in July. Not sure how strict the league is about “wink-wink” deals. Some people will point the new CBA and say the Cavs must wait a year to reacquire him from the date they traded him…not true. The new CBA only institutes a one year waiting period to reacquire a traded player if their contract does not end before that one year. A trading team MAY however reacquire a player after July 1 of the year they traded him as long as his contract ended, which it would if Speights declined his option.

Jared

Any chance OKC would have interest with either the Toronto pick or a combo of their pick plus either Lamb or PJones?

The_Real_Shamrock

Agreed

The_Real_Shamrock

That’s alot for Speights so I’d doubt it but then again anything is possible. OKC could use another big man.

Tim K.

Losing their owner will hopefully light a fire under them and get them going.

gren

Wait, don’t we own the rights to swap the Lakers pick with the pick we got from Miami this year?

Tim K.

Lottery protected. If the Lakers don’t make the playoffs, their lottery pick will go to Phoenix.

Jaker

Maybe if we included the LA/Miami pick or an expiring contract? I feel like they would listen

Speights+LA/Miami pick (whichever one we can give)
For
Lamb/Jones(whoever they want to give or we want to get)+ Toronto pick

Not bad

wahoowarrior

Personally, I don’t see a need to trade Speights. I would be much more in favor of another Chris Grant special, where we take on some salary next year in exchange for a pick while facilitating a deal elsewhere. The best scenario I could come up with is as follows:

Here, Utah gets Bledsoe without having to absorb any additional salary, L.A. receives Millsap and can dump Butler’s contract, freeing up some flexibility for them to potentially resign Chris Paul this summer. The Cavs have to absorb an additional $1m this season and have to pay Butler $8m next season, but his contract comes off the books before the summer of 2014 and the Cavs would pick up another mid to late 1st round pick for their trouble.

Kildawg

The Clips might prefer Millsap over Garnett, plus dumping Butler on the Cavs (who might find himself starting at the SF spot here). However, they likely give us a (low) first-round pick for the trouble and lose Bledsoe (Paul’s backup). Think LAC assures the long-term signing of Paul before they move Bledsoe.

mgbode

are we getting the Clippers 1st round pick in that scenario? if so, do you think that Sterling would EVER okay giving the Cavaliers one of the Clippers 1st rounders again?

AverageJoe

I like this.

wahoowarrior

I should’ve clarified, but what I meant was that the Jazz would toss the Cavs their pick, and probably either lottery (or at least top-10) protect it. Currently, the Jazz are seventh in the East, and their pick could be a good hedge for us in case we get nothing from the Lakers. I don’t really foresee a scenario where both Utah and the Lakers miss the playoffs.

My read on this is that Bledsoe is more valuable than Millsap, considering that he has another year left at a team-friendly ~$2m. Millsap is less valuable only because you have to either pay him big bucks now or let him walk. But I reckon the Clippers would be ok with losing Millsap if it’s done to lock up Paul long-term. Remember that they would not have had this flexibility if they still had Caron Butler under contract.

wahoowarrior

I think the Clippers would prefer to guarantee Paul’s long-term future, but I don’t think they have that luxury. Bledsoe is good, but not good enough to warrant not making a move that could make you more of a title contender this year.

wahoowarrior

*7th in the West. Stupid.

mgbode

interesting. would the Jazz not only consider Bledsoe and upgrade to Millsap but an upgrade worthy of a 1st round pick.

considering their current contract status and that Bledsoe will be a RFA (not a UFA) at the end of his current deal, I cannot dismiss that they might consider such a deal.

interesting.

wahoowarrior

Well, I think it could be argued in a vacuum that Millsap is a slightly more proven, and thus better, player than Bledsoe. However, with Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors waiting in the wings, Millsap is expendable to the Jazz, especially considering that they would have to pay him. Bledsoe, like you said, is someone they could control for a while between next year and his RFA status. Also, I think it would be worth a first round pick in the 17-22 range, which is where they seem headed. Those first round picks aren’t as valuable to competitive teams as they are to us.

Look at it another way, is the flexibility afforded by not being saddled with an $8m obligation to Caron Butler worth a mid to late first? I would think so. This deal would preserve the significant cap space they have preserved (currently around $25m in salary next year, assuming Marvin Williams doesn’t opt out). This deal could be the difference between offering someone a max deal or having to pick at the second tier.

“Those first round picks aren’t as valuable to competitive teams as they are to us.”

you had me until this point. now, it is possible that the $8mil obligation to Caron Butler is worth trading that for the 1st round pick, but I also think that those 1st round picks are essential to contenders. with the new CBA limiting the talent influx to teams through FA (who are at the luxury tax) those draft picks may become like gold for those savvy enough to find contributors.

Guest

Is it “legal” for the Cavs to offer Speights a contract extension now, before the trading deadline? Otherwise, he’s simply another Ramon Sessions who will walk at the end of the season and must be traded.

If Marreese wants to learn how to draw things that are considered “enticing”, I suggest he should visit some of the stalls in the men’s room at the Q.

Vindictive_Pat

Yes. He’s going to want a decent chunk of change though given his recent performance… not sure if Chris Grant is interested in giving it to him or not.

Vindictive_Pat

I’ve enjoyed this discussion fellas… very intriguing trade scenario. And personally, I would love to have Caron Butler starting at SF for the Cavs next year allowing Gee to come off the bench as he should.

Vindictive_Pat

Because of the way Del Negro likes to bring Jamal Crawford off the bench, he’s more like Chris Paul’s backup than Bledsoe is. It’s only when Paul is injured that Bledsoe acts as a point guard… otherwise it’s Crawford running the show with Bledsoe acting more like an off-guard and occasionally getting spot duty at the point.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000481218860 Jeff Rickel

No, they cannot extend him. He signed a two year deal with the second year as a player option. Only contracts of four years or greater can be extended. The reality is that he can walk, though with the salary cap situation as it is he may not find that he’ll do that well. Lots of teams are shedding salary, not adding it. The Cavs would be in the best place to re-sign him, but they’d want a deal that would not compromise their long term cap space much. They want to be able to bring in a big name free agent or a couple of lesser ones in the next few years.
I also suspect they will try to keep Ellington as well.

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